"There's morris in that tattoo"

December of 1998, my stepdancing partner of 5 years was killed
in an accident. I had taught classes with him, played music with him,
performed with him, published a book with him, and practiced 2 or 3 times
a week with him. When we practiced, we tried to match our body movements
to make us look and sound like once dancer. When Terry died, I felt that
a huge portion of my life had been ripped away from me. Terry's 8-year-old
son asked me to go with him to the funeral home to view the body one last
time before it was incinerated. Rowan considered me his second mother, and
wanted me there for comfort. I made the arrangements for the wake, and
presided over a party that completely filled the pub we had taught classes
at. There were people spilled out onto the sidewalk because they couldn't
fit into the pub. Terry would have approved, it was the biggest party I
could throw.

In the day or two after the wake, I conceived of the idea of marking

myself in some permanent way to memorialize those 5 years with Terry. I
first pictured a white spiral on my elbow, but that didn't say enough about
Terry. So I drew myself a design with a large three-armed spiral in
white and blue, and below it the hat that Terry had worn while we danced.
It was a beat up white leather tophat with horns attached to the hatband.
I'd made the horns for Terry's birthday three years before. Every english
ritual dancer from Vancouver, BC to San Diego recognizes that hat. I drew
the hat sitting atop his fool's stick, with the ribbons swirling into
knotwork. That's when I knew I had the right design. I decided to place
the design on my left arm, starting above the elbow and curling down onto
the forearm. I wanted the design to be extremely visible.

I went to Chuck Eldrige at Tattoo Archive in Berkeley with the

design. Chuck has done all my other work, and he's good at dealing with
my very fragile and sensitive skin. Since we'd used a little white ink
on my leg piece, we both thought the white spiral and hat would turn out
okay. Chuck warned me it might turn a beige color, so he suggested mixing
a drop of blue in with the white and using blue shading. My skin freaks out
at too much work, so we normally work in at least two sessions, one for the
outline, and one or more for the shading. But never shading until the
outline has healed.

When I went to have the outline done, I took Jody, the musician

who had played for Terry and me when we danced. He brought his button
accordion along and played every morris and stepdancing tune he could think
of while I was being worked on. Having someone play music during a tattoo
is a great way to keep your mind off the weird position you have to hold,
and remembering not to twitch when the needle passes over a surface nerve.
But this time it was both right and neccessary. Jody played all the tunes
that Terry had loved. It seemed to us a fitting tribute to the life of
a morris Fool.

Two weeks later, I went and had the triskellion shaded, and some

wave channels placed around it, sweeping out from each spiral. It gave the
piece a sense of motion and tied it better to the hat and stick motif below.
That took about an hour and a half, and Jody once again played morris tunes
while Chuck worked the design into my skin. He even got me to sing with him
at one point. About the time Chuck got done with the spirals, he told me
this would be a good stopping place. He had another appointment in a half
hour, and he didn't want to start the other half of the piece and then make
me wait until it was completely healed to do the rest. This way, he could
do the rest of the work as soon as I felt comfortable having the skin
stretched.

About a week later, I was ready for more work. Chuck was impressed

at how good the white looked already. My thin, white skin does show color
off quite well if the skin hasn't been traumatized so much that it starts
rejecting the ink. Jody played more morris tunes, and told me that there
was now morris in my tattoo. In fact, he told that to just about everyone
who commented about the tattoo in his hearing for the next couple weeks.
Just about everyone who's heard that comment has agreed. The tattoo is
recognizably about Terry without being a portrait, and the symbols I picked
are very much about dance and music that Terry loved.

I had the white touched up in May, during morris dancing season.

It's healed quite bright, in a sort of eggshell white. It's definitely
not beige. Chuck also touched up the red, orange and yellow ribbons. The
blue, green and purple healed perfect and didn't need touch ups. Jody, of
course, played more morris tunes during the touch up. Chuck's gotten used
to the idea of my bringing a musician in with me when I have work done now.
He likes live music, and always thanks Jody for playing.

Having this tattoo done helped me deal with some of my grief. Terry

is gone, but I still carry part of him with me. Part of my reasons for
getting the design was that it was a way of affirming to myself that yes, I
did intend to pick up and go on with my life. Any time I get a design, I
remind myself that it'll be there for the rest of my life. This tattoo was
an affirmation that I would have the rest of my life. We didn't hold the
wake until almost three weeks after Terry's death, and the main thing that
kept me function during that period was the idea that I had to get this
done. After the wake was over, I wasn't sure I wanted to live a long life.
Getting this tattoo, especially since it took more than one session, was
a sign that I was ready to live again.

The strangest thing is that people almost never ask me what my

arm tattoo means. I get asked about my leg tattoo all the time, and it's
just an abstract celtic design. People sometimes ask about the piece on
the back of my neck, since it's a bunch of celtic spirals. But the one
piece that does have meaning, they never ask about. I don't know why.
Well, I know why the morris dancers don't ask. They already know the meaning.
They remember Terry.

Lee M.Thompson-Herbert
lee@crl.com

Details

submitted by: Anonymouson: 15 July 1999in
Tattoos

Use this link to share:

Artist: +Studio: +Location: +

Comments (0)

We are an uncommon subculture and community built by and for modified people. We are the historians, practitioners and appreciators of body modification. We are the collaborative and comprehensive resource for the freedom of individuality in thought, expression and aesthetic. We serve you and ourselves as a source of inspiration, entertainment and community.

Welcome to the new BME.com If you have questions, or you discover issues please email us here.